New Visitors: It is recommended you read from the beginning of the archive, as previous
lessons are prerequisite to this one. The first lesson is, "Why
This Discussion?"

Q: What will be the effect of meditating on
objects (such as an image of Om) and also ideas and meanings (such as that
of God) when compared to meditation on sound (such as I AM)? It looks like
my mind clings to an image sooner than to sound. Which do you advise for
faster purification of the nervous system?

A: We should use only
one object for deep meditation -- our mantra. And we do not cling to it. We
only favor it, and we allow it to change and refine as we go inward. Sound
is particularly effective because it refines easily in the mind to finer and
finer vibrations, and can be picked up easily and gently with the attention
very deep inside. Meditating on physical objects, symbols, pictures, or
meanings of things is not as effective as sound for going deep. This is not
to say it can't be done with these other objects. It is only that we should
choose one way and use that with effectiveness. The sound of the mantra is
very easy to refine to penetrate our depths of inner silence, using the
procedure described early in the lessons. Then we are quickly cultivating
inner silence in our nervous system, which is the cornerstone of all
enlightenment.